Seattle, Wash.-based Amazon‘s diagnostics laboratory in Hebron, Ky., has received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Widely recognized as an industry gold standard, the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is designed to ensure laboratories meet stringent requirements and maintain the highest standards of laboratory quality, safety, and accuracy. The laboratory—which processes thousands of COVID-19 tests a day—is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), which regulate laboratory testing in the United States.
“From day one of launching our employee COVID-19 testing program, we have focused on achieving the highest standards of quality and safety for our diagnostics laboratory,” says Cem Sibay, vice president, Amazon. “We are thrilled to receive this accreditation from the College of American Pathologists and are committed to delivering quality results and ensuring employee well-being.”
Amazon received the CAP accreditation following a rigorous application and review process, including a multi-day on-site review by a CAP inspector. The inspector examined laboratory processes to ensure accuracy in diagnostic results and verified that the highest standards are in place to promote employee safety. The inspection also included a thorough review of the laboratory’s quality control procedures and employee training records, in addition to interviews with technologists and laboratory management.
The Kentucky laboratory was built in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help ensure the health and safety of Amazon’s frontline employees by providing them with regular, reliable access to free COVID-19 testing. In April 2020, the company quickly responded to the pandemic and began assembling a team with a variety of skills—from research scientists and program managers to procurement specialists and software engineers—to focus on supporting a comprehensive COVID-19 testing program. The initiative included building state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratories in the United States and UK, and ultimately creating an in-house COVID-19 testing program from scratch. Within weeks of launching, the laboratories were processing thousands of tests per day and building incremental testing capacity. The labs have now processed millions of voluntary tests from over 750,000 of Amazon’s frontline employees, which the company says makes it a leader in employer-driven COVID-19 testing.